


Shocked But Fighting

by AbschaumNo1



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, this is like several months late but here have some delayed feels I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 01:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20301541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbschaumNo1/pseuds/AbschaumNo1
Summary: Connor goes down with a knee injury.Set during/after the game in Calgary on 7th April 2019





	Shocked But Fighting

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo I actually had planned to post this pretty quickly after the game, because that injury looked so bad and I needed some H/C fic for it, buuuuut the ending just didn't work for me and I only just managed to make it work.  
Anyways. Here it finally is, several months late.

Leon knows it’s bad when Connor doesn’t get up. Connor always gets up, and he always acts as if it’s nothing, skates it off and ignores everyone (including Leon) who tries to tell him to take it slowly.

So when he stays down Leon doesn’t even have to see the pain on his face to know it’s bad. The arena is dead silent around him and so Leon hears him say “It’s broken.” And it’s not even his own knee, and their season is over after this anyways, but it feels like someone rips Leon’s heart out and he wants nothing more than to kneel down with Connor and take his hand and tell him it’s not; that he’ll get up and skate it off as usual and complain when Leon tries to take care of him. It would be a lie, he knows that. But he wants it to be true, wants someone to tell Connor that it hurts worse than it is.

They help him up eventually, and Leon doesn’t go to help him off the ice. He can’t. He knows that he wouldn’t be able to let go again if he did.

And so he taps his stick against Connor’s butt as he follows him towards the bench, just to let him know that he’s there. He’s not sure Connor even feels it but he needs to do something. He can’t just let him go off without even this small gesture.

They still have to play the rest of the period and Leon does his best, but his concentration is blown, the worry about Connor nagging at his mind.

He gets to see him during intermission, and it’s obvious that Connor is still in pain, but he manages a smile and Leon was never so glad to see his stubborn streak shine though.

“They’re doing x-rays,” he says before Leon can even ask. “We’ll have to see if it really is broken though.”

Leon takes his hand and squeezes it. “Here’s to hoping it’s not.”

Connor nods and asks, “How are we doing out there?”

“Shocked but fighting. We won’t let them win.”

“You tied Ovechkin yet?” Connor is giving him that crooked grin of his and something in Leon’s chest eases. If Connor can grin and joke like that again surely it’s not that bad.

“Not yet,” he says with a small grin of his own. “Not for lack of trying though.”

“Keep trying then. Show them what you’re made of. And tell the guys they better don’t do anything dumb out there.”

“I will,” Leon says with a laugh. He leans in and presses a close-mouthed kiss to Connor’s lips, nothing much, just a quick reassurance for both of them.

“Go get them,” Connor says, a fond smile on his face. “I’ll wait here until you get back.”

“I’ll try not to be too long.”

Connor laughs and squeezes Leon’s hand one last time before he lets go and Leon leaves to go to the locker room. He can keep it together for one last period.

They win the game and maybe Leon doesn’t get that last goal, but he’ll take it. Especially since it also turns out nothing in Connor’s knee is broken. It’s only when he hears that bit of news that Leon can actually breathe properly again.

Sure they’re going to do an MRI back home in Edmonton, and it’s no guarantee that something isn’t terribly wrong, but it’s something, and at least it means that Leon gets to take Connor home with him.

He knows they have him on the good stuff, but he’s still surprised when Connor doesn’t even try to protest when Leon helps him into their condo and to the bedroom. He’s drowsy enough that he almost drifts off the moment Leon helps him sit on the bed, but he manages to stay awake for long enough to be of some help when Leon tucks him in. He’s somehow still awake when Leon finally slips into bed with him.

It takes a moment for them to arrange themselves in a way that doesn’t hurt Connor’s knee too badly, but once they do he sags into Leon with a long exhale.

“It’s going to be okay,” Connor says, and maybe Leon hasn’t been as good at hiding just how worried he is as he thought he was.

“I know,” he says, and Connor chuckles sleepily.

“No you don’t. I just know you well enough to see that you’re worried.”

Leon has to swallow. “It was scary seeing you on the ice like that.”

“I can imagine.” Connor pats his shoulder before he slides his arm back around Leon’s waist. “But I’m here now and they decided I’m fine enough to be here instead of the hospital. And I’ve got all summer to heal up properly. So you can take a deep breath now and stop worrying too much.”

“I’ll try.”

And now that they’re lying in bed, Connor safely in his arms, Leon can finally feel the exhaustion creep in and with a sigh he buries his nose in Connor’s hair and drifts off. Things will hopefully look better tomorrow.


End file.
